Like this:

OK, this gift guide is totally last minute, like my shopping. My gifts always arrive late, but to me that just extends Christmas a little more and you end up with a little New Years gift. Right??? I am who I am.

If you’re like me and still need gift ideas for the hip and happening people in your life here’s a list of some of my favorites!

It’s that time again! Christmas time! I love this time of year. No matter what is going on in life, good or bad, decorating my Christmas tree always cheers me up. This year we switched things up a bit and used our fake pink tree instead of trying to find a natural, flocked one here in the desert. We even got a rotating stand so the whole thing spins!

I badly needed a new tree skirt since my last DIY one got ruined during our move. Wahhh.

As you may have guessed by now, I have this love affair with Palm Springs. Funnily enough while I was growing up and living there I couldn’t wait for any excuse to get out, now I can’t wait for any excuse to go back. It’s one of those weird things where you don’t appreciate something until you’re a grown up I guess. Or maybe it’s because Palm Springs is totally making a come back as the hottest (literally) vacation spot around for millenials. Since the 1920s Palm Springs has been the quick getaway of choice for Angelenos, and I’m no exception. I’m not entirely sure that I’ll ever live there again, but I do like making the trip as often as possible.

Built in 1959, it was originally California’s first Holiday Inn. In 1961 Gene Autry purchased the property and changed its name to Melody Ranch. Throughout the 90s it took on a few other identities, but in 2003 it became The Parker we know today. The hotel is fabulously decorated and set on a 13 acre secret garden-esque property, where getting lost isn’t so bad. Don’t worry they give you a map upon check-in.

Let me take you on a little photographic tour.

When you drive up to the secluded property you’re instantly greeted by the most photogenic brick wall and the friendliest valet around.

After you pass your keys along to the nice guys in the colorful shorts, stop and take a deep breath, because you’re officially about to experience what The Parker is all about.

Pass through the big orange doors and straight into the lobby.

The hotel, which was decorated by one of my favorite designers, Mr. Jonathan Adler, has the kind of colorful, eclectic, retro vibes that I live for. JA is great at mixing vintage and mod styles with humor and unexpected touches. Like the cheeky DRUGS sign that hangs on the wall.

You’ll notice is there is plenty of lush seating areas and colorful glasswork featured throughout the lobby.

That mid-century Flintstones-like wall kills me. Behind it you’ll find what reminds me of a 60s party pad, in the best way possible. I mean LOOK.

There’s a firepit and hanging basket chairs. What, what, WHAT?

There are three places to eat on the property – Mister Parker’s, Norma’s, and the Lemonade Stand. Mister Parker’s is open for dinner and features a posh, dark dining room where they serve french bistro style fare.

Norma’s is most known for its impressive breakfast and brunch menu and casual dining experience. I love the cute ambiance and colors of this place and the round chair cushions make me insanely happy.

Norma’s also has a small dinner menu and PIE SHAKES. That’s right…PIE. SHAKES. You pick the ice cream, filling, and topping. Like pie a la mode in milkshake form.

If you’re looking for something more of the liquid diet variety there’s the Lemonade Stand. Here they serve up refreshing and delicious alcoholic drinks.

I’ll be honest, at first I was a little shocked by the price on my tab(around $30 for 2 drinks), since the drink prices aren’t listed on the menu, but when you take into account the size of the drinks and the quality and amount of liquor they use, it’s not really any more expensive than other places. The drinks really are delicious and sizable. I definitely caught a buzz.

The Lemonade Stand is a bar conveniently located next to the main 24 hour adult pool so you can sip and sun your way through the weekend.

There is also a family pool (which was closed for renovations during our stay) and an indoor pool at the resort’s luxe spa, PSYC.

The grounds also have plenty of little secluded pockets featuring fire pits, hammocks, and lawn games where you can lounge and play.

We stayed in one of the 465 square foot deluxe patio rooms situated near the back of the property.

I loved this spacious room. It was a little dark because it’s on the ground level and has a private fenced patio, but it was nice and cozy and good escape from the heat and sun. The king sized bed was comfortable with soft pillows and good linens. I slept SO well. Oh! And free wifi!

Jonathan Adler everywhere!The spacious bathroom has double sinks and a soaking tub.Our favorite part of the room was the private patio that has a small table with chairs and a HAMMOCK. The hammock is great for private outdoor napping and milkshake sipping. Warning: the hammock is so exciting you might get a little too eager and fall out like my husband did. See what I mean about those Lemonade Stand drinks? Don’t worry. He’s ok!Now you’ve gotten a full glimpse of one of my favorite hotels in Palm Springs. I can’t wait until the next time we get to spend the weekend. Who knows, maybe I’ll see you guys there.Thank you to the Parker Palm Springs for a wonderful stay.

I’ve always loved decorating Easter eggs, and just because I’m a grown up doesn’t mean I can’t continue to partake in the fun. Every year I grab my Easter candy and a carton of eggs and get down to it. There are so many great ways to decorate Easter eggs. There’s the stinky vinegar dye, watercoloring, markers, glitter, the list goes on. Personally my favorite is decoupage. This method allows you to get really creative eggs, with very little effort.

I’m always inspired by mid-century themes, so of course I went with that vibe for my Easter eggs.

Here’s what you need: Decoupage medium, craft paint, images to cut out, and of course eggs. Stock photo sites and magazines are a great place to find images to cut out.

Paint or dye your eggs first, if you want. Then all you have to do is cut out your little images and use the decoupage medium to adhere them to your egg. Then apply another layer of decoupage medium over the top of it, let it dry, and that’s it!

You can have a lot of fun with your designs by layering images to create your own motif or scene.

On one, I painted the egg to create the look of an umbrella and grass. Then I used cutouts of patio furniture and from vintage bathing suit patterns to create a summery scene. On another I layered cutouts of flamingos and leaves.

Or you can just make a random pattern of images around the egg. Like palms, pineapples, sunglasses, and beach umbrellas.

I loveeee how these turned out. I don’t want to throw them away! I should have blown the yolks out and not boiled them. Oh well, next time.

I’d probably keep them out all year long if I could, but I’m sure the rotten smell and salmonella aren’t worth it. Boo.

I hope all of you have a stupendous Easter, and I hope Easter Bunny brings you enough candy to make you sick. That’s the best part of Easter.

If you would like to download the images I used, click below. For personal use only, please.

You would think after our summer road trip we’d want to take a little break from hotel life for awhile, right? Oh, no. Not us. We almost immediately got the urge for another adventure so we headed out to our beloved Palm Springs. Oh, Palm Springs. How I love your style. If you know me, you know I have a love for all things vintage, and Palm Springs is the best place to catch the vintage vibe. Whenever I look for a hotel I always look for three things: great design, great dining, and pet-friendliness. But when it comes to Palm Springs, a great POOL is a must. Summer temps soar into the 100’s so there is no point to being outside unless there is a pool and drinks. This time we stayed at The Saguaro Palm Springs – a Joie de Vivre hotel. It was my first time staying here but I’ve had it on my mind for awhile, and it has everything on my list of requirements. It was originally built in 1965 and had former lives as a Ramada and a Holiday Inn, but it’s never been as cute as this! The Saguaro opened in early 2012 and has taken on a new life in vibrant technicolor. The rainbow colored palette is the work of Peter Stamberg and Paul Aferiat, of New York-based Stamberg Aferiat Architecture. Each hue is inspired by indigenous flowers of the Colorado Desert and carried throughout the property. And the color continues inside where it’s met with handcrafted Mexican furniture. An interesting contrast that makes sense when you consider the southwestern inspiration. I loved the use of cacti and vintage brownie cameras as decor, further bringing the desert and vintage elements together. It works. The front desk stands out with its bold orange and yellow floral walls. The front desk staff was very helpful and accommodating to us. Great first impression. We were directed to our room on the color coded map and were happy to find self parking was ample and a breeze. Our king suite was spacious, and of course, colorful! The rooms are minimally decorated with only a few coffee table books and retro photography on the wall. The living area had a comfortable pull out sofa, little dining area, dresser, flat screen TV, and a walk out balcony. Oh and a refrigerator to store your drinks and stuff. Very convenient. The bathroom was ORANGE, spacious, and had a good shower. I hate when showers just have that weird, stupid mist that sprays at you and you can’t rinse your hair well, so you have to stick it under the bath faucet…sorry I’m ranting. This shower had none of that! It was delightful. The toiletries by Lather smelled gooooood. Lavender Lime lotion, bamboo lemongrass body wash, yuzu bergamot conditioner, and mint thyme shampoo. I was about to be like “heyyyy, can I have like 27 of each to take home?”, but then I just figured I should just buy them like a regular person. The bathroom has everything you need. My only “meh” is that the tile didn’t do it for me, aesthetically speaking. Hopefully it’s just left over from the Holiday Inn days. Anyway, enough about tile. LOOK ROBES! Hooded ones. The bedroom portion had a work desk, a table, and another wall-mounted TV. And a bed. Duh. Oh man, that bed was super comfy. I hadn’t slept that well in days. A lot of people are picky about room noise, but the room was quiet to me (except when the DJ was pumping jams on Saturday afternoon). It might be because I live in an apartment building on one of the busiest streets in Los Angeles, but I honestly didn’t notice any noise coming from other rooms. Bonus points for having lamps with electrical outlets on the base. I hate having to find a place to plug my phone and laptop in. Extra bonus points for the washable slipcovers on the sofas. That’s a good idea considering the dog friendly policy. WAIT. Let me talk about their super friendly dog policy real quick. No pet fee and they don’t stick you in the crappy rooms. They even included bowls and cute dog things. Mango and Pandie loved watching people at the pool and their hair colors fit right in. Now for the pool. The pool is important. If you don’t have a pool in Palm Springs, what is even the point? The Saguaro has one of the best and it’s open until midnight. There are two hot tubs, if you feel the need to soak. There is also a pool bar that has light snacks and drinks. Helllooooo. But wait, that reminds me. The middle portion of the pool goes to 9ft deep. Normally, I’m excited if any pool goes to even 6 ft deep, but in this case it’s kind of a funny problem. Every weekend they host a pool party (12pm-6pm) with a DJ and the drinks are flowing. Everyone ends up crowding into the shallow areas because they can’t stand and party it up while trying to keep their head above water in the deep end. Just make sure you snag a pool floaty if you can’t snag a spot in the shallow end. Oh, and one more minor observation: while it’s cool they have a DJ (because what pool is a party without one), they really need a better playlist. I enjoy the occasional ironic 90’s jam as much as anyone, but there really needs to be a better mix if they want to attract the crowd I think they do. The property also has a spa, bocci ball court, and daily yoga that I can appreciate but did not partake in. And FREE BIKE RENTALS! Jvee got stung by a bee and it was 106 degrees so we had to cut it short (typical luck), but taking these for a ride around the neighborhood is a blast. Rentals are for two hours at a time. There are two restaurants at the hotel, Tinto and El Jefe by Iron Chef Jose Garces. Tinto was closed during our stay but we had dinner at El Jefe where our server was very sweet and attentive. We ordered the vegetarian queso fundido as our appetizer. I had the fish tacos and loved them. Some of the best cabbage on a fish taco I’ve ever had. Jvee had the carne asada tacos because they were out of the cabrito that he had his heart set on. He enjoyed them. I liked the taco presentation. Very cute. However, I wish the food came out in the right order. My tacos came out, then the queso appetizer, then Jvee’s carne asada tacos. But it all tasted good in the end. You better get THE MARGARITAS. These aren’t watered down chain restaurant margs. I caught a little buzz off of one and the flavor was tops. I recommend the charred pineapple, even though I kind of wished it came with a charred pineapple garnish. Everywhere you look there’s color and it makes you happy! And the views! Maybe it’s the colors. Maybe it’s the tequila. I don’t know, but I’m definitely going back. I highly recommend you take a little visit to The Saguaro, too. And don’t forget to dress the part. Bye until next time.

In my world weekends are reserved for day trips and adventures. We wake up, grab coffee, pick a place to go, and road trip it there. California is perfect for day trippers and weekenders. We have mountains, desert, beaches, and big cities to visit, all within driving distance. One of my favorite things to do is stop at kitschy, classic American roadside attractions. One of my other favorite things to do is buy local food from the cities we visit. We got in the car and drove out to Indio, a desert city about 23 miles east of Palm Springs, and home of the date.

Even though I’d driven past this place tons of times, I’d never been in. Shields Date Gardens is the place to be! You’ll know you’ve arrived by the amazing knight in shining armor sign that stands virtually the same as it did in the 50s.

When you first walk in you’ll see ALL OF THE DATES. Boxes and boxes of dates. Date candy, date shakes, medjool dates, blonde dates, brunette dates, date mix, date sugar….I’m starting to sound like Bubba from Forrest Gump BUT IT’S TRUE.

Grab a date shake and head in to the theater to watch “The Romance and Sex Life of a Date”, an interesting 15 minute lecture about the cultivation of a date. It features vintage slides, footage, and a soundtrack recorded by Mr. Shields himself.

After that you can tour the gardens by walking along the guided path. It’s beautiful and there are lovely flowers and fruit trees along the way. It’s really Jesus-y, which was unexpected, as the entire path walks you through the life of Jesus. But it’s a great walk that everyone can enjoy with nice views and you get a close glimpse of where the delicious dates come from.

On your way out you can hit the cafe or hit up the gift shop. I took home a 5lb box of fancy medjool dates. Look how excited I am.

I can’t let all of these dates go to waste so this week I’ll be posting my favorite date recipes.